Rasual Butler left an impact on the Indiana Pacers and the rest of the NBA
By Ben Gibson
There aren’t words that express the collective grief of the NBA as former Indiana Pacers forward Rasual Butler died in a car crash on Wednesday.
Rasual Butler and his wife Leah LaBelle were taken from this world much too soon. They died in a car crash on Wednesday morning in Los Angeles. He was 38 years old, LaBelle, was 31.
His 7.5 points a game doesn’t do justice to the impact he had on players, coaches, executives, and media members around the NBA. He was highly respected for his leadership and professionalism but he also was a friend to many NBA players as Butler played with eight teams in his NBA career.
Kevin Pritchard released the following statement through the Indiana Pacers.
"Our entire organization is deeply saddened after learning of the death of Rasual Butler and his wife, Leah LaBelle. In his one season with us, Rasual was the consummate team player and a great role model for our younger players on how a professional should prepare and act, while being a positive influence on everyone who associated with him. We offer our sincerest condolences to he and his wife’s family."
Even as a backup player for the Pacers for only one season, his impact on the team went beyond a 2.7 points a game average during the 2013-14 season, also known as The Struggle.
At 34 years old, he earned a spot on the team that season — and the respect of Larry Bird — after he impressed in the Pacers preseason.
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"“I was going to keep 13 guys this year,” Bird said on Friday, before Butler made his debut in the Pacers’ rotation and helped them rescue a 99-94 victory over Charlotte at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.“He made our team. We didn’t just keep him. I told him, ‘You’re the only guy I’ve had that came in here and I had to keep him, because you were that good.’ He was something else in camp. He didn’t get to play hardly any in games, but everyday in practice he was wearing these guys out.”"
Butler also showed why he was a locker room leader in the regular-season finale when he dropped 19 points on the Orlando Magic in one of only two starts with Indiana.
Often the ideas of leadership and experience are thrown around as filler in sports conversation, but Butler’s reputation allowed him and West to pull Roy Hibbert aside for a closed-door meeting after the center’s infamous 0 points, 0 rebounds playoff game in 2014.
That says something about the level of respect he commanded despite being a bench player that didn’t always see the court.
But it wasn’t all seriousness with Butler, either. During the Eastern Conference Finals series against the Miami Heat, the team found time to help the old vet celebrate his birthday on the team plane.
After his season with the Indiana Pacers, Butler signed with the Washington Wizards for the 2014-15 season before making his final stop in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs the following season. His final season playing basketball came last year in Ice Cube’s Big3 league.
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Rest in peace, Rasual Butler.